[Blindness due to acute ethmoiditis].

Orbital complications of ethmoiditis are well-described. This case presents a healthy ten-year-old boy who was admitted under the diagnosis of acute ethmoiditis. A computed tomography (CT) showed orbital cellulitis, but no definite abscess. The patient improved during intravenous antibiotic treatment, but suddenly complained about loss of vision. The clinical signs were central scotoma and visual impairment to 0.05. Both repeat CT, magnetic resonance imaging and ethmoidectomy were performed without signs of abscess. Blindness due to ethmoiditis without abscess in orbita is rare and probably results from neuritis in the nervus opticus.